Surprise surprise the administration has tapped our telephones, screened our email, recorded our conversations and eavesdropped on our meetings. President Bush has openly admitted that he authorized the NSA (the good old No Such Agency) over 30 times to spy on the American citizens. Yes the rules of the game changed after two planes brought down two towers. Gone are the days when spying on the Democratic Party was reason enough for indictment and eventual dismissal. Senator Robert Byrd valiantly stood -almost comically - up on the floor of the senate and called the pro-patriot act right wingers to their senses encouraging them to read -what a concept- read and study hisotory to see what the founding fathers wanted when they founded the republic "My, my, my, how low we have sunk." well, it isn’t over yet, we have not hit bottom. Pardon while I go shopping for the holidays.
But, spying, does it really matter? Can you blame the administration for desperately trying to cover all bases? Do they really care about information? Or have they made up their mind already? The recent words of Kurt Vonnegut lay things out plain and simple: information is not important in
I would go even further and argue that science has never played a role in the decision making process of our current leaders. Greed, money, power, myth (religion if you want) and fear have paved the way to our current reality. Add to that a nation of TV obsessed overworked and apathetic citizens and you have the perfect storm of ignorance and arrogance. Who pays the tab? Well the poor of course.
To get out of this mess will take several generations. There is no easy way out - the outer world is a crude reflection of the inner world of each and every one of us. Even though I am not a religious person I found a ray of hope on a recent lecture the Dalai Lama gave to
This (reconciliation) is not a religious matter, but a science of the mind. It’s important to investigate academically. We need deeper awareness about the system of our emotions. I.e. Hatred: it has a tendency to obscure seeing the reality clearly. (...) External disarmament is preceded by internal disarmament. Look at your emotion. What emotions are beneficial and what are destructive. How these emotions interlock, and relate to each other. (...) World peace through inner peace is the pathway. Further study and analyze and experiment.
So there you have it: we have to start at the core, by changing ourselves, and then pray for better times to come. It is reassuring to see the leader of one of the largest religions in the world somewhat shafting religion as an institution and stating that science should be our central axis.
